Plans for 120 homes on the site of a disused factory in Exmouth have been given the go-ahead.

East Devon District Council’s development management committee approved Taylor Wimpey’s plans to build the new homes on land at the Pankhurst Close Trading Estate at their meeting on Tuesday (February 12).

Concerns were raised about environmental, traffic and ecological issues that approving the development would bring; planning officer Chris Rose told councillors that permission for 136 homes already exists on the site.

Councillors voted by nine votes to two, with two abstentions, to approve the plans.

Recommending approval, Mr Rose said: “Given the site’s location within the built up area boundary and the extant planning permissions across the site, the principle of development cannot be disputed.”

Cllr Mark Williamson though said that he had severe reservations about the application and that the town council had recommended that the plans be refused.

He said: “It has been opposed by the local community as Littleham has become a development site and the effect has been very considerable indeed. Plumb Park, which is a neighbouring development, has had a huge impact on the whole community, so this is not a popular development.

“This is a large development next to a scaffolding business and a scrapyard and the community do not accept the highways department lack of a response on this given the congestion, the noise, the condition of the road and the dust clouds that have blighted their lives during the summer months.”

He had proposed a site inspection so that councillors could see for themselves and assess the impact of affordable housing and where the houses would be located, the access and egress arrangements were adequate and safe, and ecological issues, but a vote was lost.

Cllr Susie Bond said that refusing this scheme meant that the applicants would implement the fallback position of even more homes, which would be worse for traffic.

Cllr Helen Parr said that as there was no objection from Highways, the council would be in trouble if they had to defend refusal at any appeal, adding: “I am struggling to see why we would not approve this.”